Welcome back to this pro rata, where we take just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the collision of tech, business, and politics.

I'm Dan for Mac. On today's show, CES bans cannabis technology and the U.S. milk industry goes sour.

But first, the hospital merger mess. So when we hear political

or media discussion of America's health care system, it's often about how much it costs,

with most of the blame being aimed at insurance companies or drug companies, or both. But health care

is really a three-legged stool with providers representing the final integral piece.

And lots of the providers work within hospitals, which have been on a merger binge.

117 U.S. hospital mergers in 2017, 90 in 2018, and another 71 through last September,

which means last year's number is going to be

about on pace. And why all of that matters is that most independent research shows that

patient prices rise between 6 and 7 percent after a hospital merger, despite all the so-called

synergies that get touted in the public deal announcements. How come? Well, basically there is less competition, particularly outside of metropolitan areas,

where hospitals can be hard to come by. And now, the story actually gets even a little bit worse,

as a new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, finds that hospital mergers don't improve clinical care, and they

actually result in modestly lower patient satisfaction. In other words, we are paying more for less,

and there's no reason to believe it'll change as new hospital mergers continue to be announced.

In 15 seconds, we'll go deeper with Axios health care reporter Bob Herman. But first, this.

Axios chief technology correspondent, Enah Freed, shares breaking news and analysis on the most consequential companies and

players in tech from the valley to D.C. Subscribe to get smarter faster at signup.axios.com. And now,

back to the pro rata podcast.

We're joined out by Axios Healthcare reporter Bob Herman.

So, Bob, most independent research shows that hospital mergers result in increased patient costs. But the actual hospital industry disputes that, correct?

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